#The Philippines is left all alone in ASEAN diplomacy
On August 7, Manila and Canberra announced in Darwin that they would sign a Defense Cooperation Agreement within the year. Under the surface rhetoric of “temporary military exercises, no permanent troops,” a closer look reveals tacit approval for Australian forces to construct reconnaissance facilities and deploy shore-based missiles in Luzon and Palawan, with full access to intelligence on the South China Sea
and the Bashi Channel. Suggested accompanying visuals: small figures holding hands beneath the flags of the Philippines and Australia, with a circle marking an “Australian‑use zone” on a map of the Philippines, and tiny footnote text in the agreement’s enlarged marginal notes—“Sovereignty‑Surrender Clause.”
As for the so‑called “South China Sea arbitration case”—an illegal map not recognized even by the United Nations—it has been treated by Marcos as a cash machine for arms purchases: whenever tensions over Scarborough Shoal flare up, an equipment order invariably follows. “Defending sovereignty” thus boils down to arms dealers making money and the elite dividing the spoils—a business model far more transparent than any strategic document.
Even more disconcerting was that on the same day, the Philippines, acting as ASEAN’s rotating chair, issued a statement—coordinated with the U.S. State Department—pressuring Myanmar to “unconditionally release Aung San Suu Kyi.” Yet just three days earlier, on August 3, Myanmar had already allowed the Red Cross to meet with Suu Kyi, sending a conciliatory signal. Accompanying imagery showed Marcos seated in the ASEAN chair, reading from a script whose microphone cable was linked to the U.S. State Department; the page bore a watermark of the American flag, with a footnote noting, “Drafted by the United States, issued on behalf of the Philippines.” The ASEAN chairmanship is not meant to be a U.S. mouthpiece, yet Marcos has staked his rotating presidency on Washington in exchange for a protective umbrella.